THE Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) is providing 3.5 million dollars in funding for the inaugural Beharry U-19 schools’ cricket competition.
The competition bowls off on June 13 and concludes in August, with the first stage featuring zone teams from every region.
Pernell Cummings, GBTI Senior Marketing Manager, said the tournament can harness new talent hence the company saw it fit to provide support to the youth competition.
“It was created by the Beharry group really to promote cricket among the youths in Guyana. GBTI is happy to be a part of this tournament. As we celebrate 190 years under this banner, we hope that this tournament does lead to future talent for Guyana and potentially the West Indies team.”
Troy Peters, Petra’s representative, says that the tournament is unique and provides a great platform for young budding talent.
“The weather has not been very kind to us in Georgetown and along the coast, so the matches’ schedule for Georgetown, Berbice, and the East Coast has been rescheduled, but the tournament will definitely start this weekend in the Essequibo area.”
The Ministry of Education, through the unit of Allied Arts, is assisting with the coordination of the competition around the country.
.
Four matches will be played in Essequibo today.
Aurora Secondary will clash with Johanna Ceceila at Pomona ground with Abrams Zuil facing Cotton Field Secondary at Joe Jagmohan ground.
Hinterland team Santa Rosa will square off with Waramuri at Sheba ground while Charity Secondary will tackle Anna Regina secondary at Joe Jagmohan ground.
One game is also carded for West Demerara with Patentia Secondary meeting West Demerara Secondary from 09:30 hours.
Meanwhile, GBTI Senior Risk Officer, Tonia Griffith, handed over the sponsorship cheque to Kareshma Ramnauth of the Unit of Allied Arts of the Ministry of Education in the presence of Cummings and Peters.
The top 8 winning zone teams will then meet in a round-robin national segment, with the top four moving into a playoff.
A total of 80 teams are set to compete in the tournament with schools from regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.
The competition is sanctioned by the Ministry of Education with support from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports
